The Pheonix Chapter

ahhh....blog sweet blog, how I've missed thee!

I noticed today that it's been over twenty days since I've last blogged. 20 DAYS!!?!?! Now, I know that I've have blog worthy thoughts over the past twenty days but I've been quite remiss in sharing them with you oh-so loyal yet forced readers. (Please do note that I appreciate the enthusiasm that each of you muster when I call to berate you for not having commented recently :) Who says that blogging should be free from familial and friendly obligation, complete with a steaming helping of guilt?)

I went the Pheonix, Arizona earlier this month for a work conference. Of note, Phenoix is great for my hair. I felt (and still feel) sufficiently ashamed and embarassed that my first reaction to Pheonix was of all things, hair related. Seriously, I'm usually not quite this superficial or girly. Thankfully, my shame only lasted until the welcome dinner where everyone else with more than three inches of hair was also singing the praises of the arid climate.

Also of note from Pheonix, non-Gators REALLY REALLY HATE THE GATORS. I am, admittedly, a lack-luster Gator fan. I watch the games, but in large part because there's usually food and beer and fun people hanging out during them. I prefer for us to win but really, when all is said and done, it doesn't ruin my week if we loose. According to my friend Stoove, I can be most accurately described as a "non-fan." All this aside, the minute I leave Florida an interesting phenomenon occurs: I become a RABID Gator fan. I abandon all color matching common sense and wear my Orange and Blue with reckless abandon, I seek out games and...wait for it...actually watch them. So, I sought out the hotel bar, ordered some fancy libations (a bottle of Pino Noir all for moi!) and settled in to watch game. I ended up being the only Gator fan in the whole bar, LSU fans yes, but even people who weren't LSU fans would come in and say: "oh, well, it'd just be good to see Florida loose." Eeek. Still, I flew the Orange and Blue and even got to do the happy dance when Florida kicked some LSU booty!

So Phenoix was lovely, from the dry, cool weather, to the Gator win to the fancy schmancy Ritz Carleton they put me up in. When the soap in your hotel room is nicer than the soap in your own bathroom you know that you've been out-fancied. The flight home now, well, that was less than enjoyable.

Some people travel well, things just sort of fall into place and they get to where there going with very little too-doo. I'm not one of those people. I roll with the punches pretty well, delays and cancellations I can usually deal with, but sometimes the punches come from further out than left field. So there I sat in my window seat, reading Twilight on my Kindle (thanks baby!) and just ahead of me I can hear a little kid amping up for an epic temper tantrum. The book seriously came out of nowhere, well not really nowhere, it came from the hand of an autistic little boy flipping his lid in the row ahead of me, but as far as my forhead was concerned it came out of no where. Two barf bags, disgusting closeness with a couple of airport , an interminable jump from Charlotte to Gainesville next to man whose breath smelled like poo and one CT scan later it was confirmed: mild concussion. A mile concussion. Some punches like delays, rude flight attendants and turbulance I can roll with, punches like a concussion? That's just a punch that I never saw coming.

In the end though, I made it home :)

Random Reason that I love Ashleigh

me: it may have taken all day, but the people around me have triumphed and infected me with their crankiness and then, having cast it off on to me, moved on to being happy

Ashleigh: bastards

Now THAT is a true friend.

May be crazier than she appears

Why is it that when I trying to explain my logic to someone I am inevitably struck by the fact that I am neurotic and perhaps a little crazier than I may appear at first glance?

It seemed totally normal to select my vending machine snack of Jalapeño potato chips
based on the knowledge that after half of the bag my mouth starts to burn and I begin to sneeze uncontrollably. I assume that this is because of the jalapeño flavored chemical powder that deliciously coats each chip. Regardless, I usually can only finish 1/2 of the snack-size baggie due to the burn-y sneeze-y-ness. Given that I can put down a full sized bag of Classic Lays with reckless abandon and disregard for my arteries, that the chip itself can portion regulate for me is a pro on my list!

What? is this not a rational way to choose one's snack?

I like to sweat the small stuff

After many a sleepless night and many a bottle of red wine, I have concluded that life, insomuch as it pertains to impact, purpose and worth, it is all about the small stuff.

A friend of mine recently blogged about the rarity of true genius. Not aptitude, skill or talent, but the kind of genius that crosses generational, racial, cultural and social barriers. Like Aaron Sorkin. We all kind of dream of being this person: spectacular and extraordinary, capable of setting the world on fire with our voice/research/writing/art etc. We all hope that somehow our passion will incite the change we hope to see in this world. Knowing full well that the odds are against it, we all hope to be a rich and world famous teacher/CPA/systems analyst etc.

So while we all aspire to these lofty heights, I've come to believe that it isn't about genius so much. Hell, people have called Kanye West a lyrical genius and we all know where I stand on that: asshat. The times I have felt the best have not been accompanied by bells and whistles or rampant applause and camera flashes. (Well...okay that's NEVER happened, so I suppose it's a bad comparator but stick with me anyways :) ) They're usually quiet and inconspicuous moments, truth be told they usually border on mundane.

Example #1: Charlie. Charlie was a friend of mine who got very very sick and died about a year and half ago. While we originally only stopped by to see him every day because it was part of our jobs, we kept visiting long after it was no longer required. 5 to 10 minutes, once a day - that's all I did. A small enough thing, but I will never forget holding his hand two days before he died, semi-conscious in a merciful drug induced haze, he squeezed my fingers. I was there. He knew that I was there. It made all the difference.

Example #2: Old Lady at the Bagel Place. Wondie-ful Boyfriend and I went to get bagels the other morning and I was laughing as I filled up my Diet Coke from the fountain. I don't know why, WB just cracks me up sometimes. I turned to find a table and an older woman in a wheelchair caught my eye and gestured me over saying "you have a wonderful laugh, don't ever stop." I smiled, said thank you and went to find a table. 15 seconds. I kept smiling all day.

Example #3: My friend Ashleigh teaches infant swim lessons, check it out, it's super cool. She has more chance than most people I know to truly set the world on fire with what she does. Still, it's the small thing: teaching one kid to swim, to float, to save themselves if they fall into deep water. There are billions of kids on the planet, but saving one, is in and of itself HUGE.

So, three points don't exactly make a case, I know. We all want to make in impact on the world as a whole, make peace in the middle east, shatter glass ceilings and break down racial barriers. The people who have done those things? They probably didn't know at the time, it's only in retrospect that we can understand the full impact of our actions, and living for what you'll see in retrospect just seems like a bit of a waste of time. It's like that Progressive Insurance commercial, you never know how far one small act of kindness will travel.

QotD

"Life is short so you better enjoy it, instead of being so goddamn ungrateful all the time."

-- Kat Williams

Today was a very good day

Sometimes in the middle of day, you think "this is a very good day." Then you immediately put your head down and try like hell not to tempt fate. Since today is coming to a close, or at least I am in for the night with a full tummy, a glass of wine, Wondie-full Boyfriend and good friends, I am reasonably confident in declaring: today was a very good day. :)

Today was a very good day. :)

Wondering..

On a sadness scale of 1 - 10, 10 being the utmost of pathetic, how sad is it that I just almost garroted myself with my necklace?